Ra's al Ghul has a reflective moment

QUESTION:
You were very participatory in crafting some of the dialogue as you recorded the film. How important is it for the actor to be able to contribute to the character?

JASON ISAACS:
This is one of the things that happens when a script has been written and rewritten and rewritten again, and considered by so many people so often, and they all have different agendas.  They all know what story blocks they're putting together, and what the visual sequences look like.  And then the actor comes in. Sometimes just the very last set of eyes laid on the script, by the person who's meant to bring it to life, can point out an inconsistency or a logical flaw where the meaning isn't clear. It's happened a few times in my life that you see a room full of people surprised because they thought the meaning was crystal clear. But if I don't really understand what I'm saying or why, I'm not sure the audience will, either. So I offer up my thoughts to the director or whoever and, if they agree with me, then we change it.  And if they don't, then I do whatever I'm asked because, in the end, I'm just a hired larynx.

QUESTION:
Do you believe there is a certain elegant villainy to a British accent?  Or is that a purely American concept?

JASON ISAACS:
I think one of the reasons British people play so many villains in Hollywood stories is that there's a tradition of theatre acting and a kind of chameleon-like change that comes from Europe.  Well, that and all the good leading parts are already snapped up by the Americans over here (he laughs). I think we have a theatre tradition, and are slightly more prepared to chew the scenery and relish things a bit more. It has more to do with reaching the back row. Besides, very often the juiciest role is the villain.  The hero is difficult to play anyway. They're mostly homegrown and very good at it.

QUESTION:
Is villainy fun to play?

JASON ISAACS:
The thing that’s fun to play are well written parts.  It's absolutely torturous to play something that is written purely for its effect on the audience, and doesn't seem believable to you.  Or, even worse, somebody that just has no reason to be or speak. Very often there are chunks of exposition that just would not be said between people.  So evil is fun to play when it's written sensibly and well.  There's nothing worse than playing a villain who is outsmarted by the hero from the beginning, and doing things that are purely sadistic in a way that nobody will ever do.  I think the most monstrous things an audience reacts to are when they understand that that character has to do it, needs to do it, must do it – and if the audience was in the same situation, they would do it, also. Nobody ever thinks they're doing the wrong thing.  So when the part is well enough written, the actor responds to the character, because he thinks that he’s doing the right thing. That's much more disturbing to watch because you recognize the inevitability of it.  You can’t escape that. The best written villain roles are the ones that feel real and understandable – because those are the ones that haunt your nightmares.

QUESTION:
What’s it like to be the ultimate nice guy, and yet most recognized for the villains you’ve portrayed?

JASON ISAACS:
I've played priests and I've played transvestites, wizards and pirates, and everything in between.  But there are certain roles people remember best.  I think that if I spend a day going around town and everybody opens doors for me and says “hi” and “have a nice day,”  but one guy pokes me in the eye with a toothpick, he's the guy I remember at the end of the day.  So, if people remember me as playing villains – and I've played two or three of them – that's because those parts have kind of hit a consciousness. I've been lucky enough to have a couple of very juicy, very well written parts in stories where the people telling the story were smart enough to give the villain power.  That's very often not the case in Hollywood movies.

Maybe one of the reasons I've done well when I have played villains is because I spend most of my life like most people – trying to make sure that I do the right thing, and make sure that the people like me, and I'm not behaving (badly). So when I do play a villain once in awhile, it's nice to be let off the leash and allowed to be deeply unpleasant with no consequences.